Kevin John Cunningham, PhD
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 34
Origins and delineation of saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer and changes in the distribution of saltwater in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Intrusion of saltwater into parts of the shallow karst Biscayne aquifer is a major concern for the 2.5 million residents of Miami-Dade County that rely on this aquifer as their primary drinking water supply. Saltwater intrusion of this aquifer began when the Everglades were drained to provide dry land for urban development and agriculture. The reduction in water levels caused by this drainage, com
Authors
Scott T. Prinos, Michael A. Wacker, Kevin J. Cunningham, David V. Fitterman
Hydrogeologic framework and salinity distribution of the Floridan aquifer system of Broward County, Florida
Concerns about water-level decline and seawater intrusion in the surficial Biscayne aquifer, currently the principal source of water supply to Broward County, prompted a study to refine the hydrogeologic framework of the underlying Floridan aquifer system to evaluate its potential as an alternative source of supply. This report presents cross sections that illustrate the stratigraphy and hydrogeol
Authors
Ronald S. Reese, Kevin J. Cunningham
Evaluation of permeability and non-Darcy flow in vuggy macroporous limestone aquifer samples with lattice Boltzmann methods
Lattice Boltzmann flow simulations provide a physics-based means of estimating intrinsic permeability from pore structure and accounting for inertial flow that leads to departures from Darcy's law. Simulations were used to compute intrinsic permeability where standard measurement methods may fail and to provide better understanding of departures from Darcy's law under field conditions. Simulations
Authors
Michael C. Sukop, Haibo Huang, Pedro F. Alvarez, Evan A. Variano, Kevin J. Cunningham
Integrating seismic-reflection and sequence-stratigraphic methods to characterize the hydrogeology of the Floridan aquifer system in southeast Florida
The Floridan aquifer system (FAS) is receiving increased attention as a result of regulatory restrictions on water-supply withdrawals and treated wastewater management practices. The South Florida Water Management District’s Regional Water Availability Rule, adopted in 2007, restricts urban withdrawals from the shallower Biscayne aquifer to pre-April 2006 levels throughout southeast Florida. Legis
Authors
Kevin J. Cunningham
Preliminary stratigraphic and hydrogeologic cross sections and seismic profile of the Floridan aquifer system of Broward County, Florida
To help water-resource managers evaluate the Floridan aquifer system (FAS) as an alternative water supply, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a study, in cooperation with the Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department, to refine the hydrogeologic framework of the FAS in the eastern part of Broward County. This report presents three preliminary cross sections illustr
Authors
Ronald S. Reese, Kevin J. Cunningham
Megaporosity and permeability of Thalassinoides-dominated ichnofabrics in the Cretaceous karst-carbonate Edwards-Trinity aquifer system, Texas
Current research has demonstrated that trace fossils and their related ichnofabrics can have a critical impact on the fluid-flow properties of hydrocarbon reservoirs and groundwater aquifers. Most petroleum-associated research has used ichnofabrics to support the definition of depositional environments and reservoir quality, and has concentrated on siliciclastic reservoir characterization and, to
Authors
Kevin J. Cunningham, Michael C. Sukop
Carbonate aquifers
Only limited hydrogeological research has been conducted using ichnology in carbonate aquifer characterization. Regardless, important applications of ichnology to carbonate aquifer characterization include its use to distinguish and delineate depositional cycles, correlate mappable biogenically altered surfaces, identify zones of preferential groundwater flow and paleogroundwater flow, and better
Authors
Kevin J. Cunningham, Michael Sukop, H. Allen Curran
Near-surface, marine seismic-reflection data defines potential hydrogeologic confinement bypass in a tertiary carbonate aquifer, southeastern Florida
Approximately 210 km of near-surface, high-frequency, marine seismic-reflection data were acquired on the southeastern part of the Florida Platform between 2007 and 2011. Many high-resolution, seismic-reflection profiles, interpretable to a depth of about 730 m, were collected on the shallow-marine shelf of southeastern Florida in water as shallow as 1 m. Landward of the present-day shelf-margin s
Authors
Kevin J. Cunningham, Cameron Walker, Richard L. Westcott
U.S. Geological Survey Science Support Strategy for Biscayne National Park and Surrounding Areas in Southeastern Florida
The U.S. Geological Survey conducts a wide range of research in and around the Biscayne National Park region of southern Florida. This research encompasses the biologic, ecologic, meteorologic, geologic, and hydrologic components of the system, including water-quality analyses, ground-water modeling, hydrogeologic-data collection, ecologic-habitat evaluations, wetlands characterizations, biogeoche
Authors
Melinda A. Wolfert-Lohmann, Christian D. Langevin, Sonya A. Jones, Chris D. Reich, Georgina L. Wingard, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Kevin J. Cunningham
Pathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 3. Use of microspheres to estimate the transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts
The vulnerability of a municipal well in the Northwest well field in southeastern Florida to potential contamination by Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts was assessed in a large‐scale, forced‐gradient (convergent) injection and recovery test. The field study involved a simultaneous pulse introduction of a nonreactive tracer (SF6, an inert gas) and oocyst‐sized (1.6, 2.9, and 4.9 μm diameter) carboxyl
Authors
Ronald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Allen M. Shapiro, Robert A. Renken, Christina L. Osborn, Joseph N. Ryan, Kevin J. Cunningham, Lee L. Landkamer
Pathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 1. Revised conceptualization of groundwater flow
The Biscayne aquifer is a highly transmissive karst limestone that serves as the sole source of drinking water to over two million residents in south Florida. The aquifer is characterized by eogenetic karst, where the most transmissive void space can be an interconnected, touching‐vug, biogenically influenced porosity of biogenic origin. Public supply wells in the aquifer are in close proximity to
Authors
Robert A. Renken, Kevin J. Cunningham, Allen M. Shapiro, Ronald W. Harvey, Michael R. Zygnerski, David W. Metge, Michael A. Wacker
Effects of turbulence on hydraulic heads and parameter sensitivities in preferential groundwater flow layers
A conduit flow process (CFP) for the Modular Finite Difference Ground‐Water Flow model, MODFLOW‐2005, has been created by the U.S. Geological Survey. An application of the CFP on a carbonate aquifer in southern Florida is described; this application examines (1) the potential for turbulent groundwater flow and (2) the effects of turbulent flow on hydraulic heads and parameter sensitivities. Turbul
Authors
W. Barclay Shoemaker, Kevin J. Cunningham, Eve L. Kuniansky, Joann F. Dixon
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 34
Origins and delineation of saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer and changes in the distribution of saltwater in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Intrusion of saltwater into parts of the shallow karst Biscayne aquifer is a major concern for the 2.5 million residents of Miami-Dade County that rely on this aquifer as their primary drinking water supply. Saltwater intrusion of this aquifer began when the Everglades were drained to provide dry land for urban development and agriculture. The reduction in water levels caused by this drainage, com
Authors
Scott T. Prinos, Michael A. Wacker, Kevin J. Cunningham, David V. Fitterman
Hydrogeologic framework and salinity distribution of the Floridan aquifer system of Broward County, Florida
Concerns about water-level decline and seawater intrusion in the surficial Biscayne aquifer, currently the principal source of water supply to Broward County, prompted a study to refine the hydrogeologic framework of the underlying Floridan aquifer system to evaluate its potential as an alternative source of supply. This report presents cross sections that illustrate the stratigraphy and hydrogeol
Authors
Ronald S. Reese, Kevin J. Cunningham
Evaluation of permeability and non-Darcy flow in vuggy macroporous limestone aquifer samples with lattice Boltzmann methods
Lattice Boltzmann flow simulations provide a physics-based means of estimating intrinsic permeability from pore structure and accounting for inertial flow that leads to departures from Darcy's law. Simulations were used to compute intrinsic permeability where standard measurement methods may fail and to provide better understanding of departures from Darcy's law under field conditions. Simulations
Authors
Michael C. Sukop, Haibo Huang, Pedro F. Alvarez, Evan A. Variano, Kevin J. Cunningham
Integrating seismic-reflection and sequence-stratigraphic methods to characterize the hydrogeology of the Floridan aquifer system in southeast Florida
The Floridan aquifer system (FAS) is receiving increased attention as a result of regulatory restrictions on water-supply withdrawals and treated wastewater management practices. The South Florida Water Management District’s Regional Water Availability Rule, adopted in 2007, restricts urban withdrawals from the shallower Biscayne aquifer to pre-April 2006 levels throughout southeast Florida. Legis
Authors
Kevin J. Cunningham
Preliminary stratigraphic and hydrogeologic cross sections and seismic profile of the Floridan aquifer system of Broward County, Florida
To help water-resource managers evaluate the Floridan aquifer system (FAS) as an alternative water supply, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a study, in cooperation with the Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department, to refine the hydrogeologic framework of the FAS in the eastern part of Broward County. This report presents three preliminary cross sections illustr
Authors
Ronald S. Reese, Kevin J. Cunningham
Megaporosity and permeability of Thalassinoides-dominated ichnofabrics in the Cretaceous karst-carbonate Edwards-Trinity aquifer system, Texas
Current research has demonstrated that trace fossils and their related ichnofabrics can have a critical impact on the fluid-flow properties of hydrocarbon reservoirs and groundwater aquifers. Most petroleum-associated research has used ichnofabrics to support the definition of depositional environments and reservoir quality, and has concentrated on siliciclastic reservoir characterization and, to
Authors
Kevin J. Cunningham, Michael C. Sukop
Carbonate aquifers
Only limited hydrogeological research has been conducted using ichnology in carbonate aquifer characterization. Regardless, important applications of ichnology to carbonate aquifer characterization include its use to distinguish and delineate depositional cycles, correlate mappable biogenically altered surfaces, identify zones of preferential groundwater flow and paleogroundwater flow, and better
Authors
Kevin J. Cunningham, Michael Sukop, H. Allen Curran
Near-surface, marine seismic-reflection data defines potential hydrogeologic confinement bypass in a tertiary carbonate aquifer, southeastern Florida
Approximately 210 km of near-surface, high-frequency, marine seismic-reflection data were acquired on the southeastern part of the Florida Platform between 2007 and 2011. Many high-resolution, seismic-reflection profiles, interpretable to a depth of about 730 m, were collected on the shallow-marine shelf of southeastern Florida in water as shallow as 1 m. Landward of the present-day shelf-margin s
Authors
Kevin J. Cunningham, Cameron Walker, Richard L. Westcott
U.S. Geological Survey Science Support Strategy for Biscayne National Park and Surrounding Areas in Southeastern Florida
The U.S. Geological Survey conducts a wide range of research in and around the Biscayne National Park region of southern Florida. This research encompasses the biologic, ecologic, meteorologic, geologic, and hydrologic components of the system, including water-quality analyses, ground-water modeling, hydrogeologic-data collection, ecologic-habitat evaluations, wetlands characterizations, biogeoche
Authors
Melinda A. Wolfert-Lohmann, Christian D. Langevin, Sonya A. Jones, Chris D. Reich, Georgina L. Wingard, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Kevin J. Cunningham
Pathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 3. Use of microspheres to estimate the transport potential of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts
The vulnerability of a municipal well in the Northwest well field in southeastern Florida to potential contamination by Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts was assessed in a large‐scale, forced‐gradient (convergent) injection and recovery test. The field study involved a simultaneous pulse introduction of a nonreactive tracer (SF6, an inert gas) and oocyst‐sized (1.6, 2.9, and 4.9 μm diameter) carboxyl
Authors
Ronald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Allen M. Shapiro, Robert A. Renken, Christina L. Osborn, Joseph N. Ryan, Kevin J. Cunningham, Lee L. Landkamer
Pathogen and chemical transport in the karst limestone of the Biscayne aquifer: 1. Revised conceptualization of groundwater flow
The Biscayne aquifer is a highly transmissive karst limestone that serves as the sole source of drinking water to over two million residents in south Florida. The aquifer is characterized by eogenetic karst, where the most transmissive void space can be an interconnected, touching‐vug, biogenically influenced porosity of biogenic origin. Public supply wells in the aquifer are in close proximity to
Authors
Robert A. Renken, Kevin J. Cunningham, Allen M. Shapiro, Ronald W. Harvey, Michael R. Zygnerski, David W. Metge, Michael A. Wacker
Effects of turbulence on hydraulic heads and parameter sensitivities in preferential groundwater flow layers
A conduit flow process (CFP) for the Modular Finite Difference Ground‐Water Flow model, MODFLOW‐2005, has been created by the U.S. Geological Survey. An application of the CFP on a carbonate aquifer in southern Florida is described; this application examines (1) the potential for turbulent groundwater flow and (2) the effects of turbulent flow on hydraulic heads and parameter sensitivities. Turbul
Authors
W. Barclay Shoemaker, Kevin J. Cunningham, Eve L. Kuniansky, Joann F. Dixon